We’re sorry for not posting in a while. We haven’t been lazy though. A lot of things are happening, and especially with Maybe. Since August last year most of our efforts have been focused on making a new great social network for dating. On the 10th of February, a few days before valentines day, we finally launched our service in Sweden. Since then over 10 000 users have joined and we are very happy with the feedback we’ve gotten so far. The service is constantly evolving and we are making some changes in the upcoming weeks to make the service even more social. Within a few weeks we will continue to expand the service outside Swedish boarders into the nordic regions. After the summer we are hoping to have reached a few bigger markets in Europe. Want to help us out? Pre-signup for the service at maybeapp.com so we can launch in your country as soon as possible.

We continue to improve MobisleNotes but are currently planning the future for the service and what direction it should take. More info on this later.

At Mobisleapps we want to contribute to a good cause while we work on our services. Therefor we decided to partner with Plan Sweden and become a “friend company” supporting a project in Zambia against child marriage.

In addition to all this we have also shifted two office locations, both in Gothenburg where we will soon get an office with a great view, and in Stockholm where we have joined the great start-up Wrapp in their new office space in Vasastan. Here we have the perfect productive environment alongside many other companies such as Bambuser and Aevy.

We are announcing today that we are discontinuing support for the trusty old GDocs/GDrive version of MobisleNotes for Android, and instead transferring all our paying users to the much improved New MobisleNotes, with free Premium subscriptions to all.

There are several reasons for phasing out Google Docs/Drive support. Let me walk you through it:

The Google Docs/Drive APIs have given us a lot of problems in the past, and the latest change to the API from Docs to Drive, which broke the sync for many of our users, was the last straw.

MobisleNotes’ app concept is about seamless switching between checklists and plain text, and Google Docs only does plain text. So the Google Docs sync has always been a compromise. And yes, there is Google Tasks, but it’s a whole other service, and pressing the switcher in the app to go to checklist mode would therefore move the whole note to another service, which of course will not fly.

One of our core ideas was also to be able to sync notes between all your devices, not just Android, and implementing Google Docs sync on iOS or Windows Phone is much more inconvenient than on Android.

All of this made us set out to build our sync service, 100% tailored to our own vision and needs for MobisleNotes. Now we’ve built it, and have the whole ecosystem under our own roof, which we’re really happy with. We can add any features we want, and if anything breaks we know it’s on us, not because of changes with Google. But the problem is we’re now sitting on two apps with two different sync services, which means double the support. And we’re just running the numbers: We’re running into more problems with the Google sync than our own, and we have several times more users on New MobisleNotes than MobisleNotes GDrive.

With all that said, our Google Drive users are paying users, and we’re not just going to abandon them. So, we’ve done a final update to MobisleNotes GDrive to make it work great with the current Google Drive API, so the users that are just hell-bent on Google Apps get what they’ve paid for. AND For the GDrive users that understand the benefits and are happy with switching to MobisleNotes sync, we’ve got some free Premium service coming your way.

We hope this setup will make the very most of our users happy. That’s top priority. And we hope you understand where we’re coming from.

In order to transfer your notes to New MobisleNotes and get your Premium subscription, please follow these instructions:

We have been busy but it’s finally here: the biggest update in MobisleNotes’s history!

We have built a whole new web sync. It will store all your notes in the MobisleNotes cloud completely free so you will never lose a note again! In addition you can now edit your notes from any device, Android, iPhone and iPad and via your Mac or PC by visiting Mobislenotes.com. With the Premium features you can now also share your notes to anyone and even have other MobisleNotes users collaborate with you on a list or note. For example you can make a shopping list together with your spouse and it will be updated directly.

Besides the new web sync, we have made a lot of improvements and tweaks to the app. Here is a list of just a few of them:

Cross-platform support

Updated and refined design

Folder support (you guys have really asked for this)

Global search

Trash – recover deleted notes

Swipe to trash (iOS)

Lock text editing/check-off mode

Share your notes with anyone over the web

Collaborate on notes in real time

New widgets with ICS (4.0) support for scrolling and re-sizing (Android)

Completely new iPad interface with retina support

We are very happy about the outcome and MobisleNotes is now nearing the product we always envisioned. We’d love it if you tried it out, and give us any feedback you might have. We hope you’ll love it!

Side notes:

We are getting a few questions about the the Gdrive version of MobisleNotes for Android (formerly “Pro” and “Gdoc”) and our intention is to update this app with minor changes but it will be kept as a separate product that only syncs with Google Docs. Anyone that would like to switch from the Gdocs app can send us an e-mail and we will work something out. Be sure we want to keep our loyal users happy.

The old sync for iOS is going to be discontinued within a few months and will NO LONGER work. All your data will be transferred through the app and make sure to update to the latest version as soon as possible.

For the last couple of months we here at MobisleApps have been working on an exiting new app in a joint venture with navigation services company Appello. It’s an app that uses traffic data in whole new way and puts it to everyday good use for drivers everywhere. We’re calling it NeverLate, and it’s launching for Android very soon.

The problem with traffic data is that even though readily available in most navigation systems, you don’t run your navigation systems most of the time you’re driving because you already know your way around. And traffic disruptions happen so seldom that you don’t turn it on to check because it’s more work than it’s worth. Besides this, even if you do turn it on to check and discover a disruption, you’re most likely already in your car at the regular time you should be leaving, making it so you end up late anyway. This doesn’t make traffic data very useful.

NeverLate turns this all around. It’s a personal traffic assistant that keeps track of all your routes for you, and alerts you only if there’s a traffic situation that requires your attention. NeverLate has your back, whether you’re sleeping or doing whatever, and alerts you in due time so you have time to get ready and leave whenever you have to leave to your destination in time. It’s technology at its finest, invisible until you need it. If you’re driving, you will never have to be late for anything again.

Where currently working very hard to put in the finishing touches on NeverLate and trimming in the traffic data algorithms to make it work as flawlessly as possible, and hoping to launch very soon. If you want to become a premium beta user go to Appello’s website and sign up, and you’ll be kept posted.

With this app where doing Android first due to the greater freedom of the platform, but everything going as planned, look forward to an iPhone version in the not too distant future.

So this weekend we decided to get our minds off MobisleNotes and all the consultant work we’re doing for a while and create something brand new. To get the most out of it we decided to move to a non-office environment to get a more fun and playful feeling towards the whole project. This was an important experiment since we on the one hand wanted to create a new exciting app running but at the same time we wanted to learn new stuff.

As the weekend started we decided to go for a dating app concept, since we had done work for a client a couple of months ago touching on this area that never materialized. This meant that some of the earlier stages of the app construction could be reused but we still had to create a completely new backend, frontend and API. Also we worked on both iPhone, Android and Windows Phone 7 simultaneously, so it obviously wasn’t a walk in the park. The biggest challenge we faced was dealing with a new database structure, NoSQL, which proved to be quite a challenge. It has the ability to handle big amounts of unstructured data in a fast and effective way but lacks some of the searchability of a regular SQL server. We are still figuring out the last details but it feels good to have it under control.

We have named the app Datey and will hopefully start trying it out in Sweden within a couple of weeks. We’re taking a simple approach to the dating and want to avoid any complicated signup processes, forced information requests and huge monthly fees. We also want to make a dating service for everyday people, and not focus just on the people that have a hard time finding dates normally, which is the focus of the market today. In order to make this much smoother we decided to initially go for the Facebook sign-up/sign in procedure which will help the community fill up with basic information and pictures. We have also devised our own super-smart “datey-ratio” that will help people match up based on our own secret formula.

We have set up a pre-signup page were users can sign up before we go live, so hopefully we will have many anticipating singles in the community from the start. Once the app is up and running in Sweden we will launch this site in other countries and once we reach a critical mass we will go live.

Any help of spreading the word will help the app travel the world. So sign up here and help us create the best dating experience around.

For day two of SIME, and as a round-up of the whole conference from a mobile perspective, I thought I’d focus on creating in the mobile arena, and bring up some of the interesting tid-bits from our day.

The first presenter that really grabbed everyone’s attention during the day was 12-year old Puck Meerburg, founder of Puckipedia. He’s a young, very curious kid who has single-handeldly created and released 2 apps to the Apple AppStore, learning English in the process to be able to understand the programming language. Interesting is that an American kid, Thomas Suarez, also 12, just circulated the web for having done exactly the same thing, and speaking at TEDx like a pro. This is just incredible, and says a lot about how easy it is to get into digital creation today if you’re curious enough and don’t see limitations. I also think it says everything about the mobile field. It’s so accessible and tangible, you feel apps are more of an object than software, which makes the concept less abstract to young people. And mobile is simple, it’s about doing small things in a delightful way, which is very easy to get in to. Have there been other young kids creating their own apps for desktop computers before? Definitely. But most probably not as many, and definitely not reaching out to as many people as these kids are today.

The day’s other big mobile evangelists were Maks Giordano, a digital guru now running a mobile agency, and Leif Eliasson, mobile expert at TradeDoubler. Leif is a numbers guy, once again showing the stats on why mobile is on track to outgrow desktop computing within the not too distant future. Maks is a Creative, and presented some great examples of interesting things that are being done on mobile that I’ll present you with below. What both of these people mentioned though, and also Zennström, Hjalmar, and a lot of other speakers at this years event, is that today, right now more than ever, all the bits are in place for truly great services and marketing to be created on mobile. We have the right hardware at a mass consumer price point, we have the software distribution ecosystem, we have the payment solutions, we have the networks and the bandwith, and most of all we now have the users.

But, this doesn’t mean you don’t have to think hard when you start creating for the mobile space. On the contrary, it’s important to really have mobile mindset when creating, and remember that it’s all about context. And also, something isn’t “fun” just because it’s in a mobile space, but contrarily we are more inclined to get tired your campaign or service if you’re not making it easy enough.

Here are some companies that have gotten it right:

Heineken Star Player, an app that taps into people’s multitasking behavior when watching football (ie soccer) games, and for doing it right they’ve gained the opportunity to have a whole 90 minutes of brand interaction with it’s users.

Nike+, a mobile app that helps you get your running going. The app, apart from being great in and by itself is probably the best example out there of how to leverage mobile and social networks to add value to your brand.

Chase QuickDeposit, an app from the bank Chase, that has enabled it’s customers to cash their checks (US company, obviously) from anywhere just by photographing them with the app. It’s also worth noting that Swedish banks have enabled paying bills using their apps and the phone’s camera, but the user experience is unfortunately very bad, which is inhibiting adoption.

Target, the US retailer has made great apps for iPhone and iPad that are shopping companions that help make shopping at Target more pleasant experience. Here the execution is of greater importance more than the concept, and Target got it right, giving them high App Store ratings which is unusual for a marketing app.

Jamie Oliver has a set of apps that align perfectly with his brand, making cooking a pleasant experience, and recommending his favorite restaurants.

Northface in China launched a location based game where you could claim land, which is totally in line with the explorer mentality of the brand, and the winner had placed over 4000 flags over all of China.

Google Wallet, Google’s initiative to let you make your phone your wallet. This is happening, it’s just a matter of who will rule, and Google is a good canditate to say the least, going down the NFC path for money transactions.

Tesco in Korea, launched Homeplus Subway Virtual Store where they put up virtual stores in subway stations where you can shop using your phone, scanning QR-codes on life-size grocery shelves while waiting for your train, and having the groceries delivered to your home when getting back from work. Genius, and the only really good use of QR-codes to date.

There are several price comparison apps, like Prisjakt, where you can scan the barcode of a product anywhere and quickly receive a list of where you can get the item at the lowest price. Retailers – be worried.

Mobile makes the perfect companion for house/apartment shopping, where Zillow and Trulia on the US market are among the most prominent, telling you what’s for sale around you, letting you peek in before you go in, and telling you if the price is reasonable, all on the go.

Rabble, a Swedish app that provides digital redeemable coupons based on you location. Providing cheap marketing opportunities for local businesses.

Some other examples Maks mentions, it think fail in the fact that they’re gimmicks, and don’t deliver any real value to the end users in the long run. These apps will be removed very quickly from the users phones after the novelty has worn off and waste the potential you have of making truly meaningful long running relationships with your users or customers.

Beck, the beer brand, has an app that helps you get home safe from a night out. It automatically calls a cab for you to get home if you don’t pass the in-app sobriety test.

Axe Auto Romeo, an app that helps you stay on good foot with all your girl acquaintances, gained of course because of the “Axe effect”, by sending the girls your not with texts while you’re on dates.

IKEA Interactive Catalogue, which lets you test placing IKEA furniture in pictures of your home using augmented reality. See the video at the bottom of the linked page to get an idea of how it works.

Ebay launched an app that tries to deflect the biggest problem with buying glasses online; you don’t know how they will look on. Using augmented reality technology, you can try their glasses on live using you mobile phone. (Interesting to note is that Favoptic launched this concept long before Ebay on our advice, but their execution was just not up to par)

These are all interesting examples of what can be done with the technology that exists today in mobile. Only your imagination sets the boundaries. But I would really like to stress the importance of thinking about the bigger perspective when working in mobile, and make something truly engaging, that adds real value in the lives to your target group. It’s always possible, and if not taken advantage of you waste a big opportunity in working with mobile, or even the digital space at large. It might require a bigger budget in the short run, but will keep on giving long after your usual “campaign period”.

To send you off, I would like to bring up, a very relevant question was posed at the M-Commerce workshop that I feel didn’t get a good answer. Why, when mobile is showing such large numbers in adoption, is it still such a small part of the digital commerce? I think it’s quite obvious why. A minute part of businesses have yet to adapt to mobile. When we’re talking about companies and services that have been rethought for mobile, we’re talking about very small percentages. How much business do you think a retail store would make if it had locked doors or a 1 m ceiling height, next to a normal one? We have to get to work adapting if we want to get that business.

And lastly, a BIG thanks to SIME and everyone behind it for inviting us to cover our passion, and for being such great hosts for the bloggers this year. Really hope we get the opportunity again. Now back to creating great useful and valued mobile experiences. And keep in touch if you want to hear more.

This week, MobileApps and me, Christoffer, have been selected to watch the mobile space at SIME Stockholm, the largest conference in IT and media in Scandinavia. We are very excited about it, and since we’re watching the mobile space closely anyway, we thought it would be a really good opportunity to share our thoughts here on our blog.

The first day at SIME Stockholm has delivered some great shows and presentations, and a lot of it touching on, or being directly about the mobile field. We thought we’d summarize it all with the one all-encompassing key take-away:

We’re going mobile, and there is no turning back

First of all, it’s evident already today, that if you’re mindset isn’t in mobile, you’re doing it wrong. How do we know this? Just look at the two biggest actors in the digital field today: Google and Facebook. Google, shifted their main focus on to mobile last year. Now everything they do is mobile first. Facebook, they have already today just under 50% of their 800 million users accessing Facebook on their mobile phones. The shift to mobile has already started to happen in a huge way.

We also heard a lot of other interesting stats, spottings, and predictions from the speakers, supporting the mobile trend:

Mobile searches have increased 4-5 time under the last year alone

30% of all restaurant searches are done on mobile phones (a big stat considering how many non-mobile optimized, or even Flash(!) restaurant sites that are out there. Here’s a great exception by the way)

79% of Smartphone users use a smartphone to help with shopping and 70 percent use phone in store.

Youtube has 200 million playbacks from phones per day (up from 100M a year ago)

550.000 new Android Smartphones are activated per day (and Apple is adding another 200.000 iPhones to that)

Two of this years biggest conference stars iZettle and Wrapp, are businesses completely focused around mobile

All TV discussions are surrounding the interaction between TV and the mobile devices taking up more and more of the watchers attention

The biggest websites in Sweden are all seeing exponential growth in mobile visitors, with Aftonbladet, Sweden’s most visited website, predicting mobile surpassing desktop in 1-2 years

The big disparity here is that with all this mobile web usage, very few websites are actually optimized for mobile use. Of advertisers, less than 25% have a mobile optimized site, even sometimes linking to it through campaigns geared towards mobile users. This is why Google has launched a mobile initiative, GO MO, helping businesses go mobile. The initiative is great and we of course love the push from Google telling people to go mobile. When you’ve visited the site and seen what you should do, contact an experienced developer like us to help you get sorted out.

MobisleApps view, that’s supported by what we heard at SIME today, is that mobile is indeed where all digital communication is headed, and we think it’s quite evident. The era where we had to sit down in front of a desk, screen and a keyboard to do everyday interactions was just a phase, forced by the limitations of technology. While we might want to do certain high concentration tasks in a controlled desktop environment, we think the barrier for what these are is being erased, and everything else is just very unnatural to do on a PC on a desktop. Period.

We are happy to announce that we as of last week reached over 200 000 active installs of MobisleNotes for Android. Only <3% of these are on Android 1.6 which is very handy.

This is very exciting as we are currently in the finishing phases of taking MobisleNotes to a completely new level (I know we have said this for some time now but we rather do it right than fast). Anyone wanna join the Beta can kindly send us a and e-mail at beta@mobisleapps.com

So this weekend we entered the competition Travelhack 2011 that was held in Gothenburg, Sweden. The goal was to come up with a digital service, an app in our case, which where to aid travelers and help them travel more sustainable.

“TravelHack is launched as a service innovation competition with a special focus to improve how people travel in a sustainable manner.”

Our idea named “go’ tid” (translates into “in good time”) was to make both public transport and car travel more reliable and there for an easier choice. If there where to be a traffic congestion the app would offer an alternativ travel route by public transport instead. To the right you can see a screen of the app.

Although we did not win the competition we are very happy with the result an proud of what we where able to accomplish in only 24 ours. All of the guys made a remarkable achievement and performance. Good work team MobisleApps – Martin, David, Per, Dean and Christoffer

Unfortunately the product at this time is only made for the Swedish market but we will be looking in to expanding markets outside of Sweden.